Three Diminutive Geese at Middle Creek Wildlife Management Area
In addition to the Canada Geese and Snow Geese currently visiting Middle Creek Wildlife Management Area, three smaller geese of interest were seen there this afternoon.
The Big Geese- The three Snow Geese and some of the one thousand or more Canada Geese presently calling the lake at Middle Creek home. Again today, flocks of hundreds of Snow Geese circled the lake, but did not decide to stay.Small Goose #1- First reported several days ago, this Ross’s Goose continues to be seen in the company of Canada Geese.Small Goose #2- Just 100 feet to the right of the Ross’s Goose, we spotted this dark little Cackling Goose, another rarity. It is probably a Richardson’s Cackling Goose (Branta hutchinsii hutchinsii), a subspecies that nests in the arctic tundra of north-central Canada.Small Goose #3- And to its right was another Cackling Goose, this one a bit paler, particularly on the breast (hatch-year bird?). Note its small size and stubby bill compared to the nearby Canada Geese.The gray, scalloped appearance of the back and the paler breast is apparent on this second Cackling Goose.The Cackling Goose was only recently recognized as a species distinct from the Canada Goose (2004). The status and distribution of each goose’s various subspecies remains a topic of discussion and debate.Compare the bill size and shape, Canada Goose to the left and Cackling Goose to the right.A final look at one of two Cackling Goose seen today from Middle Creek Wildlife Management Area’s Willow Point.
There you have it, the three little geese—a Ross’s and two Cackling. They’re among North America’s smallest of the geese species and seldom are they seen so close together.
